So I am planning on switching from a Nikon 5100 to Canon. I don't have a lot invested with the Nikon, so it's the perfect time to switch.

I am a novice, that likes to shoot landscape and travel photography. Originally the plan had been to purchase the new 70D when it comes out in September, but for some odd reason I feel in love with a lens, the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L which gets great reviews on a full frame and not so good on a crop frame. Next thing I knew I was looking at the Canon 6D and liking it more and more, but the reviews are not great and after looking at it in my local store, I was a little worried. To add insult to injury, I read the review this morning on the 5D mark ii and looked at the results of the photo's and since the price difference was only a $100.00, I thought why not.

My concern with the 6D and more so with the 5D is the age of the camera. I'm not sure how much better the digic 5 sensor is from the digic 4 sensor. Not sure if the wi-fi matters a little, but the GPS not so much. As for the 70D sounds like it's geared more toward a viedography and not still shooting.

My question... which camera for the novice, who is making this switch and wants to make a good investment?

Make no mistake: the 5D Mark II might be "old", but this is one hell of an awesome camera. Even by current day standards the image quality is very very high. 6D has some nice perks too, with Wifi and GPS being the most notable. But being a "novice" I wouldn't really ever say that you need to buy a very expensive full frame camera to play with. If you are looking for high image quality and a wide angle though, the 5D Mark II and the 6D are awesome camera's, and I'd say it would be best to try them both to see how they feel. There is a big difference there, since the 6D has been made a bit smaller.

Ok thanks guys for your help. It's hard to tell from reviews just which one will be the best fit. My reason for switching from Nikon to Canon is I think the Canon will be easier to grow on as an enthusiast. May not be the best reason to change.

Well here is the funny thing: a couple of months ago I was seriously considering switching from Canon to Nikon, because I couldn't find an action oriented full frame camera that is less expensive than say a 5DIII.

You can conclude the following: the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Maybe you should reconsider and try to find out why you want to switch camera's in the first place. Make no mistake: the D600 is an awesome camera too, perhaps even more so than the 5DII and the 6D.

The reason it is hard to decide is that you don't actually have a proper reason for changing/upgrading. If you did have a proper reason you could compare the candidates against your requirements and make a choice. Truth is that any camera is good to learn on and it is total overkill to jump to FF when you admit yourself that you are a novice. Buying flash equipment isn't going to make you a better photographer or make it easier to learn. Learn with the camera you have. When your skill develops to a point where you can identify a valid reason to upgrade (your camera doesn't do something you know that you need) then upgrade.

_________________Dan Marchant
I am learning photo graphee - see the results at www.danmarchant.com

there is a fairly big improvement in shooting in raw files and the using something like Lightroom to process them. Not that jpg aren`t good, but typically sharpen, contrast and saturation in the camera menu may need tweaking, the default settings may lack the punch. Once you find a setting that you like jpg`s are very good.

The difference between what the 7D and the 6D produce isn` worth mentioning. Main thing is that the 6D is very good in low light. Main reason you might get one over the 5DII is that its better in low light and the center focus point is even better than on the 7D.The lenses behave different on each camera, so they compliment each other very well.

Whether you use jpg or raw , you still need to get the basics right. Subject needs to be in focus and shutter speed fast enough to prevent motion blur and the less you need to crop the better. When you then resize the picture to a smaller size, it will be a good picture if its a good picture to begin with.

Main thing is to look at which manufacturer offers lenses that you may like and are happy to pay for, the body becomes secondary. Well as long as you like the feel of it and the menu system and its layout work for you. Which is why I bought Canon over Nikon, the Canons feel nicer to me and the menu system made more sense, but I am sure you can get used to anything.

5d Mark 2 is really build better than 6d in all means, better viewfinder too. Also its have more direct controls( buttons) than 6Dbut remember its 5 years old now, better to have the newer technology!

6D+ 24-105 is a killer combo, and the focus was realllyyyyyyyyy fast, not only the center cross point, rest of them were also fastIn theory, 6D has to produce better image with less noise and better dynamic range!!Max shutter speed like 1/4000 is not that much big issue, personally, i never came across such situations everWhat i feel bad is, its ''too compact'' , you may feel it as an advantage, but i prefer to add a battery grip to that, to make it more comfortable. Other thing is, u have a direct button to go inside the quick menu to adjust some commonly used setting rather than the direct button on 5d2

Personally, i feel that nikon 24-120 is no match to canon 24-105, canon part is too good to compare this time, its dam sharp and pretty fast and cost u much less than nikonNikon d600 is a great choice, but then u will miss this RED RING beauty

Thanks for the photo and the comparison. I've come to the same conclusion after reading everyone's comments and looking at countless youtube videos. The 6D will be my choice because of its better ISO range and noise is a lot less.

My only concern is how important is it to have more AF points. The 6D only has 11, the 70D has 19. I guess I will be doing a lot of focus and then recomposing.

Well you said you wouldn't be doing a lot of action shots. Then you hardly need 19, and mind you: cross type, focus points like the 7D has. For portrait, landscape and city photography the 6D is well suited.